The present invention relates to an assembly of elements having the function of separating the passenger compartment from the engine compartment of a motor vehicle.
In the bodyworks for motor vehicles, in order to separate the passenger compartment from the engine compartment with a view of both providing a structure having a mechanical resistance sufficient to support some members and control and checking devices of the vehicle (dashboard, steering instruments, ventilation and heating system and the like), and insulating the passenger compartment from the engine both acoustically and in respect of a back fire, in the said separation region the bodywork comprises suitable panels and support members which are part of the bodywork and are arranged to serve as support for other elements fastenable to the bodywork itself and provided for attaining the said purposes.
As a support for the instruments there is provided a true dashboard arranged to be fixed to the said panels and elements of the bodywork; the flame resistance is ensured by the same panels (made of metal plate), whilst the sound-proofing is obtained by fastening to the said panels further panels and sheets of a suitable material; the positioning of the ventilation and heating system is carried out by fastening the respective devices to some of the aforementioned support elements and by connecting to the same, by means of suitable connection members, the various pipes so as to position them in the correct configuration.
Thus, it is clear that for completely assembling on the bodywork the various parts, members and devices which are necessary both for obtaining the acoustic and thermal insulation between the engine and the passenger compartment and for arranging the devices which are housed in the region of separation between the engine and the passenger compartment, a considerable amount of time is required; in addition, this assembling is particularly difficult because of the poor accessibility of the said region. Moreover, the various component elements of the described structure (support elements, connection members, boxes, pipes and the like), which have to be fixed to the bodywork and are necessary for attainig the aforementioned purposes, are numerous and their cost is rather high.
It follows that the construction of the bodywork parts disposed in the region of separation between the passenger compartment and the engine compartment gives rise to rather serious problems from the point of view of the assembly and the costs.